Shipping-crate.



PATENTED MAY 1, 1906 E. M. AVE RILL. SHIPPING CRATE. APPLKGATION FILEDJUNE 26, 1905 2 SHEETS EET 1' AttOr ysl No. 819,117. PATENTED MAY 1,1906. 1:. M. AVERILL. SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 26, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R &

Witnesses- Attorneys.

UNITED sTATns PATENT OFFICE.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

.el'o- 819,117.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1906.

Application filed June 26. 1905. Serial No. 267,021.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIAS M. AVERILL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newaygo, in the county of Newaygo and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful ShippingCrate, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates generally to shipping-crates, and moreparticularly to the type known as collapsible crates.

The object of the invention is to simplify the construction and increasethe efficiency of such crates and to dispense with the employment ofnails or other equivalent form of fastening device for holding the headsin position when the crate is filled; furthermore to construct the cratein such manner as that when collapsed or knocked down it will occupy theleast possible space for reshiprnent.

WVith the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the natureof the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novelconstruction and combination of parts of a collapsible crate, as will behereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts,Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a crate constructed in accordancewith the present invention. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical transversesection. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the crate collapsed or knockeddown. Fig 4 is a perspective detail view of one of the crate members.Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through aslightly-modified form of crate.

Referring to the drawings and to Figs. 1 to 4 thereof, there isillustrated the simplest form of a crate, the same consisting of walls1, 2, 3, and 4 and heads 5 and 6. As shown, the walls are made of slatssuitably spaced apart for purpose of ventilation and secured to pairs ofcleats 7 S, 9 10, 11 12, and 13 14. From this it will be seen that thereare two cleats combined with each of the walls, and under ordinarycircumstances this will be all that is necessary; but if an intermediatecleat on each part should be found of advantage the same may be includedwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. The heads 5 and 6are also constructed of slats and are constructed by two cleats 15 and16, which are inset slightly from the terminals of the 5 slats for apurpose that will presently appear.

The cleats on two of the opposed walls are disposed flush with theterminals of the slats, while those on the other two opposed walls areinset from the terminals of slats a space equal to or slightly greaterthan the width of the cleat. The means for holding the walls assembledconsists of two bands. or assembling members 17 and 18, which, as shownin Fig. 1, are rectangular in shape and are secured to the cleats 7 and8 by staples or keepers 19, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, thestaples being driven into the cleats and into the slats in order tocause the band to lie close to or in the crotch formed by the junctureof the cleats and the slats. Generally it will only be necessary toemploy two staples for securing each of the bands in position but, ifpreferred, a greater number may be employed, and instead of securing theband to only one of the walls it may be secured to both of them, asshown at 20 in Fig. 5, wherein three bands are shown, although this isnot essential, as the central band may be omitted, if found necessary ordesirable.

Secured to the inner faces of two of the walls are battens 21, which areadapted to be engaged by the terminals of the slats of the heads, asclearly shown in Fig. 2, the terminals of the under head being disposedupon the upper sides of the battens 21 and the terminals of the upperhead being disposed beneath the battens.

The object for having the'cleats disposed in the manner describedthat isto say, having them on two of the walls inset from the terminals of theslats and on the other two walls disposed flush therewith-is to permitthe bands or assembling members to be passed under the cleats 9 and 12and over the cleats 10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby longitudinalmovement of the box members relatively to each other will be precluded.

In assembling or setting up the box the assembling-bands are adjusted tothe positions shown in Fig. 1, after which the head 6 is forced toposition, and this will place the bands under tension on the exterior ofthe box, and thushold the walls positively against any movement. hen thecrate has been filled and it is desired to position the head 5, one endof the latter is inserted under the cleat 21, and a chisel or othersuitable implement is inserted between the other terminal of the headand the inner surface of the wall, and upon a prying pressure beingapplied to the implement the wall will be forced outward and allow thehead to occupy the position 5 the same construction of heads and cleatsis observed, the only difference being that there .is an intermediatepartition 22 employed, which may be constructed similar to the heads,and this engages with battens 23 in the manner above described. I Ofcourse when the partition is employed extra cleats 24 and 25 are addedto hold the intermediate assembling-band 26 in position. This partitionwill positively brace the box against any tendency to yield inward,which might result in damage to its contents. Under some conditions thepartition may not be employed, and when such is the fact the twointermediate cleats with which the bands are not attached may beslightly longer than the width of the walls carrying them, so that whenthe latter are placed in position the cleats will project slightlybeyond the edges on the other walls, and thus keep them from beingforced in and injuring any contained fruit.

Generally the battens 21 will be secured in position at the time theparts with which they are combined are built; but, as will be obvious,they may be secured in place after the heads have been positioned, ifpreferred.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A crateembodying walls, cleats secured thereto, and assembling-bands engagingthe walls and disposed on alternate sides and lengthwise of the cleats.

2. A crate embodying walls, cleats secured exteriorly thereof, andassembling-bands encircling the walls and disposed on alternate sidesand lengthwise of the cleats.

3. A crate embodying walls, cleats secured exteriorly thereof, andassembling-bands carried by certain of the Walls and disposed onalternate sides and lengthwise of the cleats.

4. A crate embodying Walls, cleats secured exteriorly thereof,the'cleats of two of the walls being disposed approximately flush withthe terminals thereof and those of the other walls being inset from theterminals, and assembling-bands secured on the outer sides of the insetcleats and designed to engage the inner sides of the flush cleats.

5. A crate comprising walls, cleats secured exteriorly thereof,assembling-bands disposed on alternate sides of the cleats, battenssecured to the inner sides of two of the walls, and heads having theirterminals engaging the inner sides of the battens.

6. A crate comprising walls, cleats secured to two of the walls andlocated short of the terminals thereof, assembling-bands pivotallyconne'cted'with the outer sides of the cleats, cleats secured to theother walls and having their inner sides engaged by the bands, and headssprung within the body of the receptacle and held in place by frictionalcontact with the walls thereof.

7. A crate comprising walls, cleats secured exteriorly of the terminalsthereof and disposed in break-joint order relatively to each other, andassembling-bands held in place by the cleats and extending lengthwisethereof.

8. A crate comprising walls, exteriorly-disposed cleats combinedtherewith and arranged in break-joint order relatively to each other,and assembling-bands held in position by the cleats and pivotallyconnected with one of the walls.

9. A crate comprising walls, exteriorly-disposed cleats combinedtherewith and arranged in break-joint order relatively to each other,and pivoted assembling-bands disposed on alternate sides of the cleatsfor holding the walls assembled.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ELIAS M. AVERILL.

Witnesses F. W. RIBLET, AMY Z. COBB.

